Happy Wonderful Wednesday everyone! I am long overdue on posting a "Wonderful" or "Thankful" post recently but I continue to praise God everyday as I hope everyone else has as well! Today's Wonderful Wednesday post is dedicated to how God has been working with my family and I recently. We have been praying for a long time for my dad to find a better job. He was relocating from job to job for about three years and would only be able to visit anywhere from once a month to every weekend depending on the job/location. We thought a while ago we were going to have the opportunity to move back to my hometown in Ohio but that opportunity did not pan out. God showed us a few experiences about this and we knew He was taking care of it so we continued to pray and try to move forward. One day, several months later, someone contacted my dad and offered him a job without him even applying to it and they even suggested him and our family moving to that same town in Ohio! This opportunity fell right in our laps and God confirmed that this one was His will for our family! This move sadly means leaving family and loved ones behind but also means a better quality of life for all of us and in living in a loving and familiar area. We are so thankful today for the WONDERFUL things God does! Please continue to keep my family and I in your prayers as we are working to make this transition soon! What is something Wonderful you can share this Wednesday!? Much love and God bless, -X
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Fall is officially here which means everyone has gone back to school by now. Reality has sunk back in and teachers and students are back to their routines. I've seen a lot of back to school posts on social media as well, many of them revolving around how God is "banned" from the schools. It reminded me of an article I read last year and inspired me to write this blog post. As a hopeful future teacher and being passionate about spreading the gospel I have thought a lot about this dilemma. Unless I teach at a private Christian school, technically I will not be allowed to bring God into my classroom. I won't be able to tell my students about what He has done for me or tell them about my church or even share my favorite piece of scripture. Some schools have even gone away with the pledge. As a student, maybe Christianity isn't very common in the school you attend. Maybe your friends don't share your love for God or have a different faith. Because of these situations you're scared to wear your camp tshirt, listen to your Christian music, or even pray! Maybe you're even facing a "God's not dead" situation of your own with your teacher/professor. This is what those articles are talking about. This is why Christians are saying God has been taken out of the schools. How can we get Him through those doors? Well I'm here to tell you God CANNOT be taken out of schools...completely at least. Maybe He's not in the curriculum or talked about everyday, but He's there. We may not be able to pray out loud, share the gospel, or talk about Jesus in class but we can shine our light and spread God's love everyday. We can live the Word but spreading love! We can pray silently over our food or before a big game. We can help a student who is struggling. We can be kind to a stranger. Lend a smile or a helping hand. Sit with someone who is eating alone at lunch. WEAR YOUR CAMP SHIRT because who cares what anyone else thinks. And if your friends are that much against your beliefs and won't hear you out, maybe it's time to find some friends that will. I know it's easier said than done, but no one should have to feel outcasted or that they need to hide their beliefs because someone else doesn't agree. Listen to that Christian playlist and If someone is challenging your faith, stand up for your beliefs! I'm not telling you to reenact Gods not dead, but you don't have to conform either. Perhaps agree to disagree and walk away. Last but not least, we can pray for our friends, our schools, and our students. Whatever the case may be, my point is when we go to school we don't have to leave God at home. They can try to take God out of the schools but they can't keep us from the love of God. "For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." -Romans 8:38-39 As far as I'm concerned, as long as there is good being done God is present because all good things come from God. So do some good today, shine a light, and spread God's love. Much love and God bless! -X I may have mentioned this in a previous post but from the four years I was addicted to cutting only one scar remains. On my left upper arm right under my shoulder stays a single scar from the night I thought I went too deep. I see this scar everyday and it reminds me of my past every time. I am so thankful for this reminder of God's mercy and how He saved me from my past, my addiction, and from that night when I thought I went too deep...and how that night I was wishing I would have. During that time in my past the opposition severely messed with my head. I didn't understand that at the time but he knew exactly what he was doing. It got to the point where after I graduated I planned on taking my own life. He made me believe that it was in everyone's best interest and that this was God's plan for me. I thought God wanted me to kill myself for the sake of everyone else. The only thing keeping me alive was that I couldn't hurt my family, so Satan manipulated my thoughts so I started thinking I would be helping them if I wasn't around to burden them. Thankfully God cleared that up for me just in time. He saved me in His perfect time. I needed to see the severity of the low I was in to understand His power and love for me. His timing is never too early or too late because in this case it strengthened my faith and gave me this testimony to share with those who may need to hear it. To show others that even though struggles may come God loves you. He hears you. He sees what you are facing. And if you're willing for Him to help you He will! These are the things we need to talk about. It's important to talk about mental health and suicide. This week is National Suicide Prevention Week. There's a lie in this world that depression and suicide are things that shouldn't be talked about. This stigma only causes people to feel alone and hurt in secret. This week is to break that mold and reveal the truth which is that everyone experiences pain. Everyone hurts and feels alone, and deals with struggles of all different kinds every single day. Being sad and going through trials is a part of being human. Not having all the answers and asking for help is ok. Sharing your story is ok. Not being ok is ok. You are not alone. I'd like to end this blog with a quote from To Write Love On Her Arms. TWLOHA is a non-profit organization dear to my heart that helped me through my darkest times and reminded me I was not alone. "Above all else, we choose to stay. We choose to fight the darkness and the sadness, to fight the questions and the lies and the myth of all that’s missing. We choose to stay, because we are stories still going. Because there is still some time for things to turn around, time for surprises and for change. We stay because no one else can play our part. Life is worth living. We’ll see you tomorrow." So I hope if you're feeling too much today you reach out to someone you trust. You can even contact me if you would like. But keep fighting. You're story is not over yet and God has greater plans for you. Know that there are people who love you, God loves you, I love you. And we'll see you tomorrow! Much love and God bless, -X |
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July 2019
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